Iqaluit cannabis store on the move

The Higher Experience cannabis store in Iqaluit is scheduled to close temporarily to prepare to move into a new location just across the street.

On July 27, it will close its doors at 70 Fred Coman St., where it has operated since April 2024.

Before it can reopen at 609 Mattaaq Cres. in the fall, the new location needs to receive “the necessary final approvals” from the Government of Nunavut, the store’s co-owner Kevin Martin said in an email Sunday.

Before a cannabis store can open, the Government of Nunavut must inspect its location to ensure it meets requirements for security, storage compliance and proper signage, Martin said in a follow-up email.

Based on the current construction schedule, Martin said, he hopes to reopen before Oct. 1.

But the opening opening ultimately depends on construction progress and regulatory inspections, he said.

Higher Experience has done business at 70 Fred Coman St., not far from the Four Corners intersection, for two years. But after the landlord ended the store’s lease, Martin needed to find a  new location.

Even though the store was already in operation and the new location is just across the street, Martin still had to jump through several regulatory hurdles, due to it’s vicinity to a school and a daycare.

Under the Nunavut Cannabis Act, the move requires approval from the City of Iqaluit and Finance Minister John Main, who is also the premier.

With council’s approval, the GN’s approval and a pubic hearing gauging community support, the construction requirements are the final barriers for the move, which has been in the works for more than a year.